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AARP Plan N Supplement has a preferred price point in Maryland and is a good option for Medicare recipients as a result. Other companies offer the Plan N but AARP currently prices it at the best rate which ranges from $85.00 a month to $105.oo a month depending on county.

For those not familiar with it, plan N covers all medical expenses with 3 exceptions. 1- It does not pay the Medicare Part B deductible of $144.00, 2- You can be billed a maximum of $20.00 for physician services and tests, 3- you pay $50 for ER visits. Everything else (including inpatient hospital) is covered in full.

Plan N is a good option for those that want to keep Medicare primary in order to have access to more providers. Plan N also eliminates the risk of any large copays for major services. Plan N would be a good consideration for those with a Plan F supplement or those whom have a Medicare Advantage plan and would like to consider a Medicare supplement instead.

Feel free to call our office or email Ed Crowe if you have any additional questions or would like to apply for Plan N.

Most people are eligible for Medicare when they turn age 65. Being eligible for Medicare means you will be able to get Medicare Part A and B. If you are already receiving your social security payments, you will be signed up for Medicare A and B automatically. If you are not electing your Social Security benefit, you will need to take a few steps to get signed up.

First off, you need to have worked and paid Social Security taxes to be eligible for Medicare part A. You may also qualify through a spouse that worked 40 quarters. There is no monthly premium for Part A. Part B can then be elected for a cost of $104 a month per person. (can be more based on income)

As stated, if you already get Social Security payments, you will automatically be signed up. The effective date of your Part A and B is the first of the month you turn 65. If you have not elected Social Security, you will need to call your social security office and tell them you want to sign up. You may also go online to get this accomplished for those that rather use the web. The site to go online is here CLICK FOR MEDICARE.GOV SITE

Once you are signed up, you need to then determine how you want to cover the gaps in Medicare A and B and determine if you want drug coverage. There are 3 basic categories of choices:

Buy a Medicare Supplement plan (Medigap) and a stand alone drug plan

Sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan (Managed Care Plan)

Sing up for a part D plan only

The biggest mistakes made are by people that don’t look into all three options. Some people will just take an AARP plan F supplement because they hear the name or they will enroll in a Medicare advantage plan because they received a flyer or saw a commercial. I can tell you that it is a mistake to just jump into a plan. There is not a one best plan. The best plan for you depends on your situation. For some people a supplement is the best choice. For others a supplement is a waste of money and they are better off with an advantage plan or a high deductible supplement.

Crowe and Associates can help you look at all your options to determine which type of plan and company will work best for you. We use a consultative approach and will simply show you what is available and help you to narrow down the choices based on your feedback. Being independent allows us to contract with all the plans which enables us to provide you with a non biased opinion in order to make the right choice.

Most people are eligible for Medicare when they turn age 65. Being eligible for Medicare means you will be able to get Medicare Part A and B. If you are already receiving your social security payments, you will be signed up for Medicare A and B automatically. If you are not electing your Social Security benefit, you will need to take a few steps to get signed up. Read more

Most health insurance quote sites on the Internet are actually lead generation sites. Companies provide quote engines that require you to enter your personal information in order to get a quote. Once you enter your information, it is sold to local brokers (sometimes up to 6 of them). The end result of this process is that you get called and emailed relentlessly by brokers and insurance companies trying to get your business. Read more

If you currently have an individual health insurance plan for you and/or your family, you should be aware of which companies currently offer the best rates. For the last few years, Golden Rule (United Healthone) had the best rates to offer in CT but that is not often the case any longer.

Aetna has moved their products into the best rate position in the last 5 months. They now have a better price point than Golden Rule, Anthem BCBS , Connecticare and Cigna. They have a number of products but the best price for the benefits seem to be in the Managed Care open Access plans (MC Open Access $1,500, $2,500 and $5,000) . The Managed Care Open Access value plans also have great pricing.

The Open Access series of plans are PPO, copay plans. They are not high deductible plans as they allow you to go to a primary Doctor or specialist for a copay. While they are very competitive with their high Deductible plan prices, they do not have the same price dominance as they do with the Open Access plans.

Anyone that currently has an insurance plan would be wise to apply for the Aetna plans to see if they can get an approval with a lower premium. Our website has links to the major companies that allows you to quote a plan and also apply from that same site. This is not a lead generation site. No one will call or email you if you quote and or apply on our site. CLICK HERE FOR QUOTES

It is most likely that Aetna will maintain this strong price point throughout 2013 in anticipation of the new Health reform plans that will be coming out.

Crowe & Associates will hold Medicare Seminars the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month in 2013 starting in February. Meeting will run from 10:00 to 11:30 am. We will be holding meeting in multiple locations throughout the year. A schedule of times and locations are listed below. Read more

Medigap plans also called Medicare supplement plans are secondary to Medicare insurance plans offered by private insurance companies. The plans are standardized in most states and range from plan A to N.

Traditionally, plan J (now a retired plan) and plan F have been the most popular as they both cover 100% of secondary costs not covered by Medicare. Plan F can be costly with an premium ranging from $170 a month to $250 a month depending on the state you live in.

There are lower cost alternatives that are worthy of consideration. The plan L supplement has only been around for a few years and is not well know but it should not be ignored. Plan L premium is about 1/3 the cost of plan F. (Around $120 a month) ($114.25 in CT) It covers 75% of the costs not covered by Medicare and has a total out of pocket limit of $2,400 per year. A 25% cost share may seem like a big risk at first glace but it is more than reasonable if you consider how Medicare bills costs.

Plan L covers 75% of what Medicare does not cover. For part B of medicare, it will cover 75% of the 20% Medicare does not cover. This leaves the insured with a 5% cost share. Further, the 20% cost share is based on what Medicare allows the provider to charge. It is not based off the regular rate.

Under Medicare Part A, the hospital deductible is $1140 which Plan L covers 75% of. This leaves only $285.00 for the insured to pay. Part A covers at 100% for the first 60 days of hospitalization after the deductible is met so there is little risk of owning any more than $285.00

My personal experience with clients using plan L has been overwhelmingly positive. Clients that do not use many medical services for the year experience huge savings over plan F and those that utilize a lot of services rarely spend more than than the premium savings vs. a plan F.

Plan L is a solid choice for those that want to take the time to understand why it will save them money.

Apollo Global Management is setting the table to make a major move in the indexed and fixed annuity market. Apollo owns Athene Annuities (an up and coming annuity company), recently purchased Presidential Life and now has purchased Aviva USA. These moves should allow them expand on the limited number of states they currently offer annuity products in.

It looks like Apollo is setting the state to become more aggressive with product offerings and innovative products in the fixed annuity segment. While the overall annuity market in the US has slowed down over recent quarters, the fixed indexed and fixed markets continue to grow. A slew of companies have jumped on the band wagon and now offer fixed, indexed or Deferred Income annuities but they have not been able to meet the innovation or guarantees of the Guggenheim companies products. (Security Benefit and Equitrust products)

Hopefully, Apollo will be introducing new products in order to provide some solid alternative to Security Benefit and Equitrust. Time will tell.

Medicare Supplement plans (Also called Medigap plans) have been around for many years. Plan F Supplement which is offered by a number of companies is the most popular supplement mostly because it covers 100% of medical expenses not covered by Medicare.

Utilization for people with plan F has trended much higher than that of other supplements. If someone is paying for a plan that will cover all of their Medical expenses, they are probably going to be more inclined to go to the doctor or get a test than someone who has a cost share. Given that Medicare is primary when using a supplement, people with a plan F supplement are utilizing more than someone without a plan F supplement.

At one point, I thought Medicare Advantage plans would be phased out over the next few years but now it is time to admit that I was way off. Cost share plans are the ones that will be around and it is the covered in full plan F that is going to be on the chopping block.

I predict that 2014 will be the last year that Plan F will be offered. I am sure it will be grandfathered to those that already have it but they will no longer offer it to new customers at some point in 2014.

Medicare Supplement plans (Also called Medigap plans) have been around for many years. Plan F Supplement which is offered by a number of companies is the most popular supplement mostly because it covers 100% of medical expenses not covered by Medicare.

Utilization for people with plan F has trended much higher than that of other supplements. If someone is paying for a plan that will cover all of their Medical expenses, they are probably going to be more inclined to go to the doctor or get a test than someone who has a cost share. Given that Medicare is primary when using a supplement, people with a plan F supplement are utilizing more than someone without a plan F supplement.

At one point, I thought Medicare Advantage plans would be phased out over the next few years but now it is time to admit that I was way off. Cost share plans are the ones that will be around and it is the covered in full plan F that is going to be on the chopping block.

I predict that 2014 will be the last year that Plan F will be offered. I am sure it will be grandfathered to those that already have it but they will no longer offer it to new customers at some point in 2014.